Beneath the Surface: Looming Shadows
by Bleeding Palm
Summary: A hidden scroll reveals the truth behind the sealing – How will this affect the future? Full Summary Within
1. Change

_Beneath the Surface: Looming Shadows_

_Written by: Tsuki no Ki_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, the Manga or Anime. That honour falls to Masashi Kishimoto. I do own the created jutsu and OC's throughout this fic though._

Legend;

"This is general talking."

'_This is thoughts'_

_Dreams, Flashback, and Text (Books, Scrolls, Letters, etc.)_

**"This is a Summon or Bijuu speech." Also jutsu names and Doujutsu when activated.**

_**'Thoughts of a Summon or Bijuu.'**_

**Summary: **Five years after the night of the Kyuubi attack, the reinstated Sandaime Hokage discovers why the Yondaime sealed away the Kyuubi into Naruto. With this new knowledge in hand, the Sandaime must take measures to ensure the continued existence of Konoha will last. How will this affect young Naruto, and the rest of the Village Hidden in the Leaves? (AU, Powerful Naruto)

_**Chapter One: **__Change_

A soft breeze passed through the dark night of Konohagakure no Sato. It had been just over five years since the attack and subsequent sealing of the Kyuubi no Yōko. The Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, still did not understand why his successor/predecessor sealed the Kyuubi within a young child, when he could have sealed it within his own body and taken the beast to the Shinigami's realm.

As a result of said sealing, a young boy, one Uzumaki Naruto, was subject to constant hatred and malice by the civilian populace of Konoha. Maybe 60% of the Konoha Ninja Corps also despised the child for what he had sealed within him. The blonde haired child was a constant reminder of what happened that fateful night, the pain and suffering Konoha went through.

The sound of pounding footsteps disrupted the cool night…

"Hokage-sama!"

The door to the Hokage's office opened with a retch, the resulting 'bang' ringing through the once silent office.

"Hokage-sama, it's urgent! An apartment complex on the other side of the village is ablaze!" shouted the Konoha shinobi.

Sarutobi looked up from his overload of paperwork. "Well send out the Police… I can't deal with every problem myself…"

The man shook his head. "That's not it, Hokage-sama! It is Uzumaki Naruto's apartment complex!"

The moment Naruto's name escaped his lips, the man watched with wide eyes as the Hokage disappeared in a flash. The sudden disappearance of a physical substance caused the air around it to fill the void with a rather disturbing sucking sound.

The shinobi was wide eyed for a moment before he took started off towards the inferno, albeit at a much slower pace.

XXXXXXXXXXX

(Twenty Minutes Earlier)

Naruto watched in horror as his guardian cackled menacingly, an insane glint in his eyes. The man stood with a katana hanging over his shoulder and his left foot sitting atop a jar of oil.

"Now… Now I can avenge my family! I'll kill you, demon, and I'll be forever remembered as a Hero of Konoha! Bwahahahah! Repent demon! Remember your sins, the people you killed, as you burn to death like my wife did! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The man kicked over the oil, spilling it all over the wooden floor. The liquid seemed to ooze towards Naruto, stalking him as a lion would its prey. Naruto quivered in fear, his small frame curling into a ball in an attempt to protect him self. The man's screeching laugh got even louder as he took a matchbox from his pocket, lighting one of the sulphur headed fire sticks.

Before he dropped the match, he threw his katana at Naruto, smirking when the blade cut open his left leg. The blood mixed in with the oil, giving it a coppery red tinge. The man flicked the match, watching with insane glee as it connected with the flammable liquid, the resulting inferno reflected in his eyes.

"Purged by fire, the same element that created you, demon! DIE!"

With that, he turned and fled the firestorm, all the while cackling with a slight hop in his step.

Naruto tried to scream as the fire got closer, but the amount of fear and pain he was under paralysed his voice box. The most he could manage was a face of terror, his eyes wide but his irises and pupils contracted. This was the end, if the fire didn't kill him then blood loss would.

_'Goodbye, Jiji.'_

XXXXXXXXXXX

"**Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!**"

A flowing torrent of azure liquid formed up into the shape of a giant, twisting dragon. As the torrent reached the peak of its ascent, it curved and started towards the raging flames that encompassed the apartment complex. Just as it was about to collide with the building, the ANBU member who cast the jutsu released the _Tori _handseal, causing the dragon to collapse into a shower of water instead of a compacted technique that cold easily tear down the entire building.

"Keep it up! We need more water on those flames!" cried the ANBU, restarting the string of handseals for the water dragon technique.

Another ANBU appeared next to the first. This one was wearing a dog mask and had silver haired that seemed to defy gravity as it stuck out to the side.

"The fire must have a fuel source other than wood if it can keep growing larger after this many water jutsu… I'm going in; we need to get Uzumaki out of there."

The first ANBU paused for a fraction of a second in his handseals before continuing. "Taicho, is that a good idea? This fire seems extremely stubborn…"

The dog masked ANBU shrugged, "No choice. Keep up the water jutsu."

Before either of them had the chance to move, a strong, deep voice sounded from behind them, "**Suiton: Sōshōsuiryū no Jutsu!**"

Behind the group rose a pair of water dragons, both much larger than the ANBU's had been. They twisted and curled around each other as they headed towards the apartment complex. As the dragons reached a point just above the building, a loud clap sounded from behind the ANBU and the two dragons smashed into each other, releasing a torrent of water raining down on the flames.

Within seconds, the flames were gone, leaving nothing but a smouldering building. The silver-haired ANBU didn't bother to look back, as he knew who cast that jutsu immediately, and dashed forwards into the building intent of finding the blonde haired Jinchūriki.

The first ANBU turned and came face to face with the elderly face of the village's leader. "Sandaime-sama!" The ANBU was immediately on the ground, kneeling in front of the Hokage.

"Enough of that. Go and assist Inu in finding Naruto." The old man ground out, praying to the kami that his surrogate grandson would be alright.

"Hai!"

Ten minutes passed, and there was no word from the two ANBU. Sarutobi started to move towards the ruins, only to have the dog masked ANBU rush out, a bleeding bundle in his arms.

"Hokage-sama, Naruto is suffering from blood loss and third degree burns all over his body. There is a large, deep gash in his left leg. I patched it up as best as I could, but unless we get him to the hospital immediately, he has no hope."

Sarutobi grabbed the child carefully and disappeared, along side the ANBU captain, in a whirlwind of leaves and dust from the surrounding area.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto groaned as he came too, his eyelids fluttering before opening completely. Before he had a chance to gather his bearings, a sudden rush of memories hit him like a freight train. Naruto screamed and grabbed at his body, phantom flames rushing over him as he recalled what had happened.

The feeling passed after a few moments, and Naruto was left on all fours, sucking in air like a vacuum. It took a moment for him to notice, but as he refocused he noticed his hands and legs were hidden underneath murky looking water. He looked around some more and noticed he was in something reminiscent of a sewer. He knew because he had hidden in the sewers under Konoha many times.

Looking up, trying to find a manhole to get out, he found none, but instead gazed upon two pipes running along the ceiling. Both seemed to radiate with some kind of energy; the one on the left had a natural feel to it, and had a dull blue hue. The one on the right however, felt foreign and pulsated with a brilliant crimson colour.

His five year old mind didn't process the foul nature of the red pipe, only noting that it was brighter than the blue one, so he decided to follow that one, hoping to find a way out. As he made his way through the labyrinth, the water around his feet sloshing but his legs never getting wet, he finally found a tunnel that ended in a bright light.

As he got closer, he felt a breeze wash over him, stop, and then repeat itself almost as if something was breathing. Not paying any attention to it, Naruto raced forward faster in an attempt to get out of this place and back to Sarutobi.

The light washed over the young blonde, forcing him to shield his eyes as he got accustomed to it. Once he did, he opened his eyes again and found himself in front of a giant cage, the onyx bars pulsating with a familiar energy, similar but not the same as the blue pipes he saw earlier. Over where Naruto assumed the keyhole should be, was a piece of paper with the kanji for 'seal' written on it, although Naruto didn't understand what it read.

"What is this place…?"

"**This is my domain. Who disrupts my eternal slumber…? Oh, if it isn't the little ningen…"**

Naruto stared with horror at the giant vulpine beast that was behind the double iron gates. Black ringed eyelids shifted so that the crimson slitted eyes underneath could be seen. Naruto shook in fear, barely able to move a muscle.

"Is this the entrance to Hell? Am I going to the underworld because I'm a demon?" Naruto whispered under his breath, but the fox's keen ears picked it up as if the child was shouting.

"**Hah! You? A demon? What put such a laughable idea in your thick skull? To think that a ningen would think himself a demon! Hahah!**"

Naruto quivered before the might beast, before summoning up all his courage and facing the vulpine. "Who are you then? And… where am I?"

The fox chuckled, or what Naruto assumed was a chuckle because it came out more like a series of barks. "**You, ningen, are inside your subconscious. As for whom I am? Heh… I am the mighty Kyuubi no Yōko!**"

At that revelation, Naruto stumbled back before tripping over his own feet, falling onto his backside in the water. "B-b-but, you're supposed to be dead! Yondaime-sama beat you!"

Kyuubi roared, throwing a massive amount of ki out of his cage at Naruto. The blonde started to suffocate under the pressure, his fear increasing tenfold of his current situation. "**I CANNOT BE KILLED BY A MERE MORTAL, NINGEN-GAKI! That blonde haired bastard sealed me into your stomach. Tch, foolish mortal thought to trap me in here. He even locked away half my chakra to make sure I couldn't escape…" **The last part was mumbled, and Naruto didn't catch a word of it.

"S, sealed into me? But why? Is… Is that why everyone hates me?"

Kyuubi looked up from his rambling on blonde haired bastards when he heard this. The humans hated his container? Perhaps he shouldn't have slept these past 5 years. Sighing, which came out as more of a low-force gale that pushed Naruto further back, he moved one of his tails to the water in front of him, and touched the surface, causing it to ripple outwards.

Images started to form within the water, and Naruto looked at it to see his life flashing by in the ripple. As it went on, Kyuubi's maul slowly shifted from a frown to a snarl to a full blown growl, his canines growing longer and started to drip the crimson energy that was the demon's chakra.

"**Stupid mortals! They could have killed him! If that damn gaki dies, my life is forfeit as well. That won't do… not at all… No choice then.**" Glancing to the blonde haired child outside his cage, the Kyuubi's lips curved into a foxy smirk. "**Ningen… I'm going to give you a choice. Either you accept the gift I'm going to give you and the transition will be relatively painless as I numb your body. Or you don't accept it, and I force it upon you and laugh as you writhe in agony for days as the changes occur.**"

"What changes?" Naruto asked, finally gaining enough control over his muscles to stand up.

"**I'm going to pour some of my chakra into your system, and enhance your body so that you will receive enhanced senses of sight, hearing and smell. You will most likely gain muscle mass, longer and sharper canine teeth, possibly claw like fingernails as well. My chakra will also affect your brain, enhancing it so you will likely be more intelligent, possibly getting an ****eidetic memory****. Understand?**"

Naruto merely nodded, not quite sure if he did or not. He wasn't going to argue with a demon after all. The only question that came to mind was the most important. "Why?"

"**If you die, I die, simple as that. I am merely enhancing my container out of a desire to preserve my life. Remember this ningen, I will find a way out of here. And when that day comes, I will enjoy devouring you. Until that day, I don't want to see your face in my domain again. Prepare yourself; this will be uncomfortable at best, even if I numb your pain receptors.**"

With that, Kyuubi touched all nine tails to his side of the seal, focusing his chakra into the piece of paper and through Naruto's system. Realizing that he needed Naruto to cooperate if it was going to be mostly pain free, he growled out, "**Touch the seal.**"

Naruto complied and immediately felt a rush of pure energy wash over him.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Sarutobi watched the blonde over his gnarled knuckles. They had gotten to the hospital in time for the medics to heal the boy, only to discover that a red energy had already started to heal him. After that, Sarutobi dismissed the nurses and doctor who had started to heal him, only getting as far as returning his legs and face to its usual colour, the burnt skin long gone.

The Hokage was fascinated by the red glow that encompassed the boy after half an hour of being in the hospital red. The burnt skin peeled off, dissolving into nothingness within the red chakra, and new skin covered the raw flesh in seconds. The gash on his leg smoked as it healed over, leaving no trace that he was ever wounded.

It was after the blonde finished healing that Sarutobi started to worry. The boy started to grow before his eyes, gaining at least two inches in a matter of minutes. Eyes wide, Sarutobi made the immediate decision to remove Naruto from the hospital and get him somewhere private, like Sarutobi's home.

Informing the ANBU guard just outside the door where he was going, Sarutobi grabbed the blonde boy, wincing as the red chakra burnt his hands, before using a simple **Shunshin **to get to the Sarutobi estate.

Before a civilian could blink, Sarutobi had the boy in a cot beside his own bed, watching as the changes began to manifest. At first it was small, his whiskers became more profound, his nose reshaped to a slight point. And then it started to get worse. The boys canine teeth poked over his bottom lip slightly, his fingernails grew long and pointed, looking like claws. If one was to look closely, they would see that his ears had curved to a point.

Sarutobi stayed until the changes in Naruto ceased, which took the better part of 5 hours, before he dashed off to the Hokage Tower and the private library of the Hokage.

_'Minato, please tell me you left something about the Kyuubi here!'_

Sarutobi rifled through the shelves, desk drawers, everything he could lay his hands on. He was soon growling in aggravation when he could find nothing. Nothing! Not one word on the Kyuubi or the Shiki Fūjin allowing the beast to alter Naruto. Roaring, he threw a nearby scroll at random, and was surprised to hear it hit metal rather than wood.

Turning, he narrowed his eyes at a section of the wall. Walking over to it, he started to rap his knuckles against it. Sure enough, the metallic sound rang again. Moving, he tapped the wall to the left and received the sound of wood being hit.

"If he didn't want it discovered, he would have masked the sound as well… What were you planning, Minato?"

Casting a high level dispelling technique on the wall, he watched as the genjutsu faded away to leave a vault door made of some form of black metal. Sarutobi released the lock, using his chakra to pick the bolt hidden by the metal. Smiling as the door cracked open, he wrenched it open the whole way to find two scrolls hidden within.

Picking up the first, he noted it was extremely fancy and was written in highly detailed calligraphy. The second one was written in Minato's usual scrawl like writing. He ambled over to the desk, and pushed all the scrolls off of the wooden surface onto the floor. Placing Minato's scroll off to the side, he unravelled the first one in the middle of the desk.

_If you are reading this, then you are my successor to the name of Hokage. __Hopefully Sarutobi decided to take it back up, and if this is you reading, Hello Old Man! Anywho, my name is Namikaze Minato and I am the Yondaime Hokage of Konoha. I fear that something terrible is on the horizon, a looming shadow that threatens not just Konoha, but the entirety of the Elemental Nations. I cannot reveal the source of this information, I'm sure you must understand that secrets are a key point of our career._

_It is for this reason, I have__ sealed the Kyuubi no Yōko within my son, Uzumaki Naruto. I had him take on his mother's maiden name as a means to protect him until his capable of protecting himself. The Yin portion of the demon's chakra is completely locked away, inaccessible to the Kyuubi or Naruto; however the Yang portion is readily accessible to Naruto whenever he needs it. The Kyuubi's consciousness, unfortunately, is part of its Yang chakra, and as such Naruto is able to speak with the demon. In the off chance that the demon's chakra manifests before Naruto's thirteenth birthday, I wish for the current Hokage to take him in and arrange for him to be tutored in the ways of the shinobi outside the academy, for I fear the children may fear him if the demon's chakra has influenced him._

_It is with great sadness that I leave this duty to you, my successor, as I would have wanted to watch my son grow. Take care of him._

_Namikaze Minato,  
__Konoha no Kīroi Senkō__,  
__Yondaime Hokage._

XXXXXXXXXXX

Translation List

_Bijuu – Tailed Beast  
__Doujutsu – Eye Techniques  
__Kyuubi no Yōko__ – Nine Tailed Demon Fox  
__Jiji – Old Man/Grandfather/Old Geezer  
__Konoha no Kīroi Senkō__ – Konoha's Yellow Flash  
__Tori – Bird  
__Inu – Dog  
__Ningen – Human  
__Gaki – Brat_

Jutsu List

**Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu**** – **Water Release: Water Dragon Projectile Technique  
**Suiton: Sōshōsuiryū no Jutsu**** – **Water Release: Twin Rising Water Dragons Technique (Original Jutsu)  
**Shunshin **– Body Flicker

**A/N: **And there we have it. Chapter one of what I hope will be an interesting and captivating story. I'm relatively new to this, so any advice or criticism that you want to throw my way, go ahead.

I don't have a beta reader yet, so if you feel like you want to beta future chapters, or beta this chapter and have me repost the updated version, I'm all ears.

Also, I am looking for input on Naruto's possible sensei (I have one in mind already, but I think he needs at least two), so if you have any ideas, throw 'em my way.

Cheers and thanks for reading.


	2. Beginning

_Beneath the Surface: Looming Shadows_

_Written by: Tsuki no Ki_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, the Manga or Anime. That honour falls to Masashi Kishimoto. I do own the created jutsu and OC's throughout this fic though._

_**Chapter Two**__**: **__Beginning_

Sarutobi read and reread the scroll to make sure he didn't miss anything. He could not believe what he had just read… to think that Minato knew that the Kyuubi might attack, but still didn't tell anyone? It frightened the venerable Hokage, but what was worse was that there could be an even worse threat that needed the Kyuubi's power to combat it.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he closed the scroll and tied it shut, placing it carefully to the side before dragging the second scroll across. He took one look at it before deciding to leave it, as it was obviously not meant for his eyes.

The scroll was marked _'Naruto.'_

Picking up both scrolls, he slipped them into a pocket hidden inside the folds of his robes, and started on his way to leave. Grimacing at the mess as he went passed, he determined to contact _someone_ to come and clean up the mess so he didn't have to. Paperwork was bad enough.

XXXXXXXXXXX

A tantalizing scent wafted through Naruto's makeshift room, and the blonde's nose naturally followed it even though the boy himself was still unconscious. His eyelids fluttered for a moment before parting to reveal his brilliant cerulean blue orbs. The first thing that registered was that he could see… a lot more than he should be able to. The flecks of dust floating in the air above him seemed to dance, and Naruto was pleasantly surprised to find he could follow them. His eyes locked onto one of the specks of dust, following its movements exactly.

Before Naruto even realized what he had done, his arm was extended straight up, and his hand was clenched around the dust. Pulling his slightly shaking fist towards his face, he slowly opened it and stared at the speck of dust that was now cut in two.

"Whoa…" Naruto whispered. His eyes shifted to his fingernails, which were a lot longer and sharper than they were when he passed out. A grin split across his face as he raised his clawed hand into the light splaying across the room for the bulb hanging overhead. The light seemed to radiate across his nails, giving them a soft glow.

"Wicked…"

Naruto made to get up when he caught whiff of the aroma coming from somewhere in the house. Naruto sniffed the air, raising his nose slightly to better catch the scent. Saliva gathered in his mouth as he dragged himself out of bed and followed the smell, his nostrils flaring every now and then to make sure he kept the scent. "Smells so good… Wonder what it is…"

The blonde reached out and twisted the handle on the third door on the left on the first story of the house he was in. Opening the door, the smell increased ten fold, and Naruto couldn't help but drool. Taking a cursory glance around the room, which his eyes seemed to make out in great detail, he spotted the source of the wonderful smell. A large pot sat on top of the stove simmering over a low flame. Naruto's eyes cut across to the flame for a second before going back to the pot. Taking the lid from the top, he looked inside and almost dug in right then and there.

Inside was a mixture of meat, of which kind he wasn't sure, vegetables, some kind of liquid stock, and it was all very thick.

"Beef Hot Pot," spoke a voice from behind the blonde.

Naruto spun on the spot, his instincts taking over. His back bowed forward and he crouched low, his teeth bared and claws held out.

"Well Naruto," started Sarutobi, "I wasn't expecting this kind of welcome."

Naruto stood stock still for a moment before jumping forward and latching his arms around the old Hokage's neck. "Jiji! You came!"

The Hokage laughed and lowered Naruto to the ground. "Of course I did… Now Naruto, I think we need to talk…"

Naruto nodded and opened his eyes wide, causing the Hokage to gasp. "Naruto… Have you looked in a mirror since you woke up?" Naruto shook his head in the negative. "I see… Well, after we've gotten something in our stomach, we'll get you cleaned up and then have a chat."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto stared at himself in the mirror of Sarutobi's bathroom. His hair was longer and scraggier, and seemed darker than the bright blonde it was. His claws and teeth he already knew about, but his whisker marks had deepened, giving him a more feral look. His body was taller than it was, and more refined, all the baby fat he had gone. What scared him the most though, was his eyes, the one part of himself that he always liked, his blue cerulean orbs, were now slitted and catlike.

A shiver ran down his spine at the thought of what the villagers were going to think. If they thought he was a demon before, what would they think now they had proof? Deciding not to think on it, he hoped down from the small stool and made his way towards Sarutobi's study, which had been pointed out to him on the way to the bathroom.

Naruto's feet padded softly across the woolly carpet covering the floor of the study. He giggled when he wriggled his toes in the tresses of the carpet, tickling his feet. He shuffled over to the pair of large bookcases, overflowing with books and scrolls. His eyes immediately latched onto his favourite colour, orange, and he tried to grab the book but found it was too high. Whining, he glared at a few of the other books before pulling out a dark red, almost maroon, coloured leather bound book.

He plopped backwards onto the floor and cracked open the book, leafing through it in an attempt to find some pictures. The only pictures were rough sketches of things that made no sense to Naruto, but when he put it back, he found he could remember every page of the book with startling clarity.

"I see you've found my books."

Naruto nodded, having heard Sarutobi walk into the room with his enhanced hearing. "Hai, Jiji. I don't know what most of it says though…"

Sarutobi chuckled and ruffled Naruto's hair before sitting in his high back leather chair. Spinning it around to face the young boy on the floor, Sarutobi patted his knee and Naruto immediately hopped up onto the old man's lap.

"Now then Naruto, I need to talk to you about these changes. First thing is first, how did they happen?"

Naruto immediately went into an accurate retelling of his first, and hopefully last, meeting with the Kyuubi. Sarutobi nodded and 'hmm'ed at certain spots, and became particularly interested in the changes that the Kyuubi had made. By the time Naruto was finished, Sarutobi was already formulating schemes to gather the resources necessary for Naruto's growth.

"Naruto, do you remember how I told you about Ninja earlier this year? Well, how would you like to be one?"

The bright grin that threatened to split the boy's face in two was all the answer Sarutobi needed.

"Well first thing is first, we need to find you a new place to live. Normally, I would take you in, but I am rarely ever out of the office these days. Maybe a few times a week if I'm lucky, so I'll arrange for an apartment and a new guardian." Sarutobi winced at Naruto's reaction. "I'll make sure that this time your guardian is completely trust worthy. It will likely be a shinobi that will also be your instructor.

"Speaking of which, I'm going to have you start studying the art of the Ninja, along with things like reading and writing. Once you know how to read properly, I'll let you take a look at some of the books in here. How's that sound? For the next few days you will stay here and I will have my son look after you. His wife just gave birth to a little boy, Konohamaru, so you will have an Otouto."

Naruto was bouncing up and down in childish glee. He was going to be a ninja. He was going to have an otouto. This was looking to be one of the best days in Naruto's childhood. "Thank you, Jii-chan!" With that said, Naruto latched his arms around the old man's neck and hugged him as hard as he could, which was surprisingly strong compared to most other five year olds.

Sarutobi chuckled and pried Naruto off of his neck. "Come, I'll introduce you to my son and his wife. And then, we can get started on those reading lessons."

XXXXXXXXXXX

It had been three days since Sarutobi had spoken to Naruto about his future training. The boy had taken to reading like a fish to water. The moment he knew the basics, he was reading children's book, and they only lasted about a day. According to Asuma, Sarutobi's eldest son, Naruto had tried to read one of the more advanced books which were tucked away on the lower shelves in his study.

Sarutobi let a small smile cross his face before looking down to four profiles on his desk. Each of the four contained a Jounin level shinobi, each of which had the skills necessary to teach Naruto.

The first of which was Tsume, the Matriarch of the Inuzuka clan, who could teach Naruto to fight with his claws and newfound flexibility. The fox's chakra had made the boy double jointed like all Inuzuka's were.

The second, one Maito Gai, resident Taijutsu expert, master of seven different styles, all of which came from different parts of the world.

The third was Uchiha Itachi, the prodigious son of the Uchiha clan. Master of the Silent Killing technique and Konoha's greatest assassin, also gifted in Konoha's weakest art, Genjutsu, he was perfect for teaching Naruto the way of a true shinobi.

The last was Hatake Kakashi, master of 1000 ninjutsu, and Konoha's leading ANBU captain. However, given that Kakashi's sensei was the Yondaime, Sarutobi was afraid that Kakashi may harbour ill will towards Naruto as well.

Sarutobi glanced over the dossiers on his ninja again and sighed. So far, his best picks were Itachi and Tsume. But he needed to find Naruto a guardian. Tsume couldn't just up and leave her clan, and the Uchiha clan would sooner slaughter everyone in Konoha than help Naruto.

_'Perhaps I put Itachi on the long term mission roster? Hmm… That's not a bad idea… Make it a long term B-rank… The Uchiha cannot deny that… Yes, not a bad idea at all…'_

With that settled, Sarutobi pressed flipped the switch on his intercom. "Get me Uchiha Itachi and Inuzuka Tsume please."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto stared at the two people in front of him. The first was an onyx eyed, raven haired teenager. He was dressed in the standard ANBU attire, minus the animal mask, and was as silent as the dead. Naruto, even with his enhanced hearing, could barely hear the boy's breath.

The second was a rough looking woman with shaggy brown hair and elongated canine teeth similar to Naruto's. Her eyes were also had slit pupils, the irises barely even visible. Two red fang-like tattoos ran down her cheeks, and Naruto immediately knew that this woman was from the Inuzuka clan that Naruto read about merely ten minutes ago.

Sarutobi smiled at Naruto before clearing his throat. "Now then, Naruto, I would like you to first meet Inuzuka Tsume. She is the current leader of the Inuzuka clan, and has agreed to teach you her family's style of taijutsu."

Naruto bowed to the Inuzuka matriarch, getting a barking laugh and a clap on the shoulder in return. "Listen up brat, I've agreed to teach you, but if you bring shame to my family's technique, I'll make sure you regret it, understand?"

Naruto nodded timidly, which Sarutobi had to chuckle at. Naruto wasn't the first to be frightened by Tsume; after all, the woman had scared away her husband just a year ago. The former Inuzuka Alpha had requested to be posted in one of Konoha's outpost towns near the border, and was working on a new wind-based technique last Sarutobi heard.

Tsume nodded once to the Hokage before walking out the door, one of the few ninja in Konoha to do so. Sarutobi was so used to people entering from the window that he forgot he even had a door sometimes.

"Anywho, now that you've met Tsume-san, I'd like to introduce to you your guardian for the next seven years and dominant sensei, Uchiha Itachi. He is only twelve, but he is more than capable of taking care you. Itachi, this is Uzumaki Naruto, your new charge."

Itachi looked down at Naruto, "Greetings, Uzumaki, I trust you will give your all during training and allow me to care for you with the upmost efficiency."

Sarutobi sighed and shook his head. This arrangement would be as good for Itachi as it would be for Naruto. Hopefully, some of Itachi's calmness would rub off on Naruto, and vice versa with Naruto's exuberance making Itachi more than just an emotionless shell.

"Well then, I've arranged for an apartment for the both of you. It's part of a shinobi-only complex near the east forest. Here's the address and keys," Sarutobi handed an envelope to Itachi. "Itachi, three months worth of stipend is in there, along with your first three months of pay. I wish you both luck, and Naruto. I'll see you in a few weeks time, okay?"

With a nod, both teenager and child were whisked away in a whirlwind of leaves. Sarutobi glared at the offending plant life. "Why do people always have to make a mess of my office?"

XXXXXXXXXXX

Itachi's gaze flickered to his blonde charge for a split second as he opened the front door to their new apartment. His sight moved back to the apartment, and Itachi's eyes immediately started memorizing the layout, locating possible hiding spots and exits.

The entrance opened out into a simple living room, with two double seated couches arranged in an L-shape in the back left hand corner. In the corner between the couches was a small square table, and in front of them was a larger coffee table in an oval shape. On the left wall, between the couches and the entrance was an opening, with a curtain like flap that ran across the top, which led into the kitchen. In the back right corner of the room was the door to the balcony, which contained a pair of couches with a table between them. There was enough space to get up and walk around on it as well. On the right side wall, between two doors, was an empty bookcase.

Itachi led Naruto to the first door on the right, opened it with a click, and glanced inside. From the doorway, a bed jutted out from the opposite wall, a few feet to the left. Opposite the bed, on the same wall as the doorway to the immediate left, was a small, wooden dresser. There was an armchair in the back left corner, as well as a bed side table a foot away from the chair. A large closet was on the opposite side of the bed to the table. There was another door to a small bathroom located a few steps to the right of the bedroom doorway. Going through, they found out the bathroom connected to the second bedroom, which was a mirror image of the first.

Looking down to his side, he placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and led him through to the living room. "Okay Uzumaki, pick a room and go put your clothes away while I take a look at the kitchen."

Naruto nodded and bounced off to the door on the left whilst Itachi disappeared through the opening into the kitchen. It had a simple setup, oven, stove, sink and counter all ran along the far left wall, creating another L-shape between the north and left walls. A refrigerator/freezer combination was against the north wall, next to the counter top. Itachi stepped passed the small dining table with two pull out chairs that was against the right wall a few steps left of the door, and opened the refrigerator. It was fully stocked; meaning Itachi didn't need to bother with the groceries until at least next week. Going through the pantry and cupboards, he found they were stocked too.

"Well… May as well get started on dinner… Perhaps something simple… Rice and fish should do…" Poking his head out from the entrance, he watched the blonde come tumbling out of his room, a bright grin on his face. Itachi merely arched an eyebrow at the boy. "Dinner will be prepared soon, go and wash up please."

Naruto nodded and disappeared into the bathroom. Itachi turned to go back to his cooking, but had a sudden sense of impending doom. Realizing he had sent a rambunctious five year old to bathe himself, Itachi started back towards the bathroom. Hearing a loud splash come from two rooms over, Itachi winced and looked out the window.

"Why me?"

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Translation List

_Otouto – Little Brother_

**A/N:** And Chapter Two is up and running. This chapter is shorter than the first, about 1000 words or so in difference, but this is a transition chapter and dragging it out any longer will kill my brain.

Same deal as before. Reviews, comments, criticism and advice are all welcome.


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